Coalition
by Ratchet171
Summary: While in pursuit of a new relic, Starscream and Knock Out get thrust into a rather strange situation, giving them a new perspective of each other. One they'll have to work together to get out of.
1. Chapter 1 - A Strange Situation

I haven't posted anything in a while, so here.

Note: Transformers Prime. Relic hunt. Grab your saddles.

_Thoughts_

_: Comm :_

* * *

"Starscream, assemble the troops and secure the relic. Knock Out, you shall assist him. "

Megatron cast a glance to Soundwave signaling the request of a ground bridge before turning to leave the command center. He paused a moment beside his first Lieutenant.

"Do not fail me again, or I will not be as merciful as I once was." Sparing a final jagged tooth sneer at the trembling seeker he continued on his way down the terminal. Once the Warlord was out of sight the seeker sagged in relief.

"_Honestly. _He blames _me _for our most recent catastrophes, yet _he _was the one to lose to the Prime in their latest scuffle. If he had listened to my _brilliant_ suggestion before engaging the enemy, he might have-"

"Cool your jets, _Commander. _Our liege gave us orders while you were too busy cowering, if I remember correctly."

The seeker growled in response and was about to retort when a slender figure loomed above him, extending a slim servo towards a monitor. Starscream rolled his optics and headed towards the Nemesis main deck, Knock Out trailing behind him seemingly uninterested. The seeker pressed a digit to his helm.

_: All fliers report to the Nemesis deck and prepare to mobilize! :_

Exiting the main hub onto the Nemesis deck, Starscream turned and stood near the edge gazing out to the cloudless horizon. Moments later, and a rush of pedes, ten fliers appeared in line behind the second in command. Receiving coordinates from Soundwave via comm, Starscream sported a cackle and a sideways glance towards the red Aston Martin.

"Have fun driving, _Doctor." _With that the seeker gracefully dived off the deck, sensors once dormant now awakening in the ecstasy of free fall. Accessing his transformation protocols, plates shifted and rearranged in the form of an F-15 Fighter Jet before he ignited his thrusters and took off, ten identical Cybertronian jet modes in tow.

Rolling his eyes with a huff, Knock Out headed into the newly opened ground bridge and stepped out onto a marshy turf. Sneering in disgust, he looked around in dismay to find murky water and reeds too close for comfort. Cursing the seeker silently, he sidestepped around the offending areas until he was on the main road. Folding down into his alternate form, he took off, rocks and wet dirt being flicked away mercilessly from his tires.

_: Ugh, can you believe this place? It'll take forever to get this off my rims. :_ Knock Out growled across his comm.

Had he been in his bipedal form, the grin plastered across the seeker's face would have been evident_. : Ah, yes, quite a drawback for you ground pounders. We fliers never have to deal with such annoyances such as the disgusting filth that covers this planet. Ahh, to bask in the freedom of the sky, one cannot compare. I don't see why you and those Autobots confine yourselves to the ground as such. :_

Knock Out internally groaned at the seeker's ranting. _: Spare me the details, Starscream. What's important is we retrieve this relic so I can wash this filth off my magnificent frame. :_

Sending the file with the coordinates of the relic across their comm to Knock Out, Starscream increased the power to his thrusters and shot forward to the designated area. _: Perhaps it would be easier if you were not so slow. I'm sure it must be such a hinder to have the ground confining you to select speeds. :_

Growling in aggravation, Knock Out pushed his tires faster, ignoring the speed limits staggered along the road. _The insolence of that mech! The flier was obviously not aware of his own speed capabilities as compared to a _regular _ground vehicle. _Tilting his mirror towards the sky, he could no longer see the seeker or the vehicons in plain sight. _Maybe if he was lucky, he would miss the scuffle entirely and he could enjoy a nice_ _long wash and wax when he returned to the Nemesis. _Preparing a processor full for the ignorant seeker, he settled on listening to local radio stations as he focused on the road.

* * *

"Decepticons, attack!"

Diving down towards the source of the signal, Starscream activated his weapon protocols and prepared to fire off a round of missiles. A charged energon blast interrupted his focus as he swerved and spun to avoid getting hit, thrusters alive with the thrill of battle. His own blasters hummed to life as he took aim on the Autobot two wheeler Arcee and let loose a barrage of shots. The motorcycle expertly swerved around the shots before transforming and firing her own shots to the jet. Starscream barrel rolled around each shot before transforming down into his bipedal mode behind the group of firing vehicons. Leveling his servo with his face plates, he activated the rockets on his servo and took aim at the Autobot Leader. Distracted by a vehicon attempting to sneak up behind him, Optimus didn't notice the missile headed straight for him until it was too late. It exploded in a cascade of sparks upon his non-gun servo, causing him to hiss in pain and stagger to his knees. Energon lines hissed and sparked as they were torn open to the world rending his servo useless, energon beginning to seem from vital fuel lines. Noticing their fallen leader, the Autobots moved in to defend him from the cascade of energon bullets.

_One down, three more to go. _Starscream smirked to himself as he prepared to launch his second missile at the Autobot Scout, before he was knocked down by the Autobot femme. Scrambling to his pedes, he barely had time to look up before he was being slashed and maimed by sharp energy blades. Snarling, Arcee lunged at him again, her blades digging into his soft protoform beneath his armor. He howled in pain and drew back his clawed servos to rake across her chassis in retaliation. She raised her servos to block his punches, then she flipped forward, knocking him down with her pedes, her servos transforming into guns as they flared hungrily to life.

"This ends here, Starscream."

_Scrap! _His optics widened in fear as his processor raced to find a way out of this. An astrosecond later he opened his mouth to form some sort of rebuke to fool the femme when Arcee lurched forward, optics wide and mouth agape. She slumped to the side hissing in pain, electricity crackling along her frame as stasis threatened to take hold. Turning his optics forward, none other than Knock Out strode towards him, twirling his energon prod with a self-satisfied smirk on his face plates.

"Well, well, well, isn't this a surprise. What was that about us _inferior ground pounders?_"

Starscream's optics flashed as he staggered to his pedes. "Save the dramatics, Knock Out, we have Autobots to deal with."

Lifting his servo with a flourish, Knock Out gestured over to where the remaining two Autobots were surrounded by the vehicons, the group closing in with blasters raised.

"I suggest we locate the relic quickly, while we still have the advantage, _Commander." _

Accessing his data files, Starscream singled out the signal which lead to a small crevice in the rocks behind them. Carefully examining it, he reached a servo in and felt a long metal object. Straining for a moment, he produced what appeared to be a long cylinder shaped object composed of a light metal. Turning it over in his servos, he noticed a few Cybertronian glyphs inscribed on its surface and a few seams along the edges.

"Knock Out, I believe we have what we came for. I am sure Megatron will be exceptionally pleased to learn that I have recovered another relic as he requested." Starscream sneered as he headed toward the vehicons, raising a servo to access his comm for a ground bridge. Before he could move though, a servo shot out and grabbed ahold of one end of the relic.

"_You?! _Please, if _I _hadn't shown up, you would have been scrapped! I'll be taking this to Megatron personally." He yanked hard on the relic, causing Starscream to lose his footing but not break his hold on the device.

Starscream pulled back on the device and growled threateningly. "I arrived here before you did and located it in the first place. The Autobots would have taken it and left before you had even shown up had I not stopped them!"

Knock Out scoffed and tugged back on his end, ignorant to a faint hum beginning to resonate from within the device. The Autobots and vehicons had long ago turned their attention to the struggling pair, waiting to see what would happen. Optimus had finally come to his pedes, grasping his heavily damaged servo and was prepared to act accordingly should something happen. "Stopped them? I was the one that stopped the Autobots and secured the relic _without _your help!"

"You glitch head! I was the one to take down the Prime!"

"Megatron couldn't trust you as far as he could throw you! Which is why he sent _me _along to make sure it was done correctly!"

"As second in command I **order **you to stand down!"

"Shove it up your tailpipe seeker!"

With a loud _click _both ends that the Decepticon officers were holding onto extended outward, a golden light beginning to flare out from the relic. Both Decepticons stopped struggling and stared, mouth plates agape and optics wide, as the light grew and a loud hum filled the air. Still refusing the release their hold, they covered their ear finals as the hum grew loud and shrill, piercing their audio receptors. The vehicons and Autobots flinched back and covered their optics as the light grew too bright to stare at. Thin tendrils of grey and red light escaped between Starscream and Knock Outs' chassis as the light grew too bright to see through. With a burst of light and a large shockwave, the two were thrown apart, the relic landing unharmed in the dirt and closing back in on itself. Both Decepticons were knocked into stasis on the side as the Autobots took the opportunity to turn on the vehicons, blasters hot and charged. The Autobot leader scooped up the small femme left unconscious on the side with his good servo while Bumblebee cautiously picked up the relic, holding it far from his chassis as if it were about to explode at any moment. Warding off the last of the Decepticon fliers, Bulkhead pressed a digit to his helm.

"Ratchet, we need a ground bridge. Prepare sick bay, we got injured coming in."

A ground bridge appeared behind the group and they all disappeared into the portal, it closing swiftly behind them.

* * *

_Processor 89%. Weapons optimal. Transformation protocols online. Chassis 29% damaged. _

Warnings of minor injuries and offending substances in his bio net flashed across his HUD. He groaned and pushed them aside as his optics fought to focus again. There was something dark shading over his helm blocking out everything else.

"Knock Out. Sir. Please awake, we must report back to our liege."

_That voice. Couldn't it tell he was disoriented? Just a few more breems… _

"Knock Out!" The once blurry image of a vehicon stood above him as he finally conceded and opened his optics. _Ah, Steve, that was his designation. _"Knock Out, sir. The Autobots stole the relic."

_Autobots? Relic? _His features scrunched as he struggled to remember what had happened before he had been knocked out. _Wait. Knock Out. KNOCK OUT. _He leapt to his pedes and glanced around to see a few vehicons surrounding him and another figure a few meters over. _Huh. Why do I feel… Shorter? _Focusing on the vehicons, they seemed to be optic level with him. _Wait, Steve… He called me… _Neither answering nor responding to the flier, he glanced down at his chassis and pedes. Ice cold terror shot through his fuel lines as what he saw was not his normal grey armored chassis and high-heeled thrusters. Instead they were replaced by a strikingly familiar red chassis and pointed silver pedes. Optics widening in dread, he glanced at his servos to find the same result. Biting down on his glossa, he strode over to the other group of vehicons and shoved them out of his way, grumbling obscenities. Chassis shaking in trepidation, he peered down at the figure, straight into the optics of none other than himself.

_H-How could… But I'm not… That's my body!_

He watched as his own body's optics widened and his mouth opened a few times, a strangled choke coming out of his vocalizer before his optics rolled back and he fell down, knocked back into stasis. His processor stalled as he tried to make light of the situation thrust upon him. The vehicons were quick to heft the fallen seeker between them and head through a newly opened ground bridge nearby. As he headed toward the glowing portal, he couldn't help but keep glancing down to see if his optics were playing tricks on him. _Nope. The reds still there. _Suddenly remembering something, he paused in his wake. Not only was he in the body of an egotistical associate of his, he had failed to retrieve the relic.

_How am I going to explain _this_ one to Megatron?_

* * *

Well, there you go. I haven't read this over; it was intended as a one-shot, but I wouldn't mind adding to it if you guys actually enjoyed reading it. I enjoy reading comments and I'm open to suggestions or requests for future chapters or stories, so feel free to PM or Review. Whatever pleases you. Thank you to everyone who read, reviewed, favorite'd or followed my last story, _Support. _**Happy 2014 everyone. **


	2. Chapter 2 - A New Outlook

Megatron is out for blood. Haul aft.

Note: Transformers Prime. I haven't read any FFs like this, so hopefully I won't be repeating material.

**In which Knock Out learns how girls in high heels feel, and Starscream looks fabulous.**

_Thoughts_

_: Comm :_

* * *

_Processor 96% optimal. Transformation protocols offline. Weapons net offline. _

_Preparing to bring system online…_

_Ugh. _He groaned as his helm spun from Primus knows what. He strained his optics open against the harsh white light directed above him. _Where am I? What… Happened? _He lifted a servo to block out some of the light as he finally noticed the dreary violet tiles of the ceiling. He was in the Med Bay on the Nemesis, of course. _I must have been knocked into stasis somehow, no doubt the fault of that pretentious Seeker. What a horrible nightmare that was! To think that _I _would be caught in the frame of that pompous mech. _Brushing away the last of the stasis reports on his HUD, he hefted himself up on the med berth, fully prepared to go straight to the wash racks for a good wash and wax he _oh _so desperately needed.

"Rise and shine, _Doctor._"

A pair of dashingly familiar red optics appeared before him, startling Knock Out and sending him crashing to the floor with a yelp.

"Y-you! You're me!" He gasped and clutched at his chassis. "M-My voice! _What have you done!?" _

He sat frozen in shock as the imitation him growled and pointed a digit threateningly near his face plates.

"_Me?! _As if I'm pleased with these arrangements! _You're _the one that refused to let go of the relic I so rightfully retrieved!"

Knock Out growled and attempted to lift himself to his pedes, failing and tumbling back on his aft dramatically. Ignoring the jibe, he attempted to sit up again, once more with little success. "So, this _isn't _just a bad dream cycle?"

"I'm afraid not."

"Oh, just thought I'd make sure." He mumbled before toppling forward as stasis once again took hold.

Grumbling to himself about mechs who couldn't hold their energon, he attempted, note _attempted, _to heft the Seeker back onto the medical berth, resulting in his body being slumped over awkwardly, aft in the air, as the red Aston Martin desperately tried to lift him from beneath his servos.

"Um… Sir?"

Starscream slowly turned his helm, optics wide, to see a vehicon soldier standing in the open entrance.

"What are you doing to Commander Starscream?"

Glancing down at the awkward angle the mech was situated in at his pedes, his processor raced to come up with a proper response.

"I uh… Starscream here was being, um, a bit _difficult _with my medical orders so I had to… Put him into stasis." Starscream grinned the best he could, digits crossed behind his chassis. The vehicons visor stared back blankly.

"Okay. I remember Starscream being one of your tougher patients, didn't know you actually had to knock 'em out every now and then." The vehicon strode forward and placed a servo behind Knock Out's chassis and pedes. "Here, allow me Doctor." Starscream nodded and moved back to allow him ample room to relocate the Seeker.

"Ah, um, t-thank you. Steve, was it?"

The vehicon nodded before glancing down at him in confusion. "Sir, are your pedes alright?"

Optics widening slightly, Starscream realized he had been standing on the tips of his pedes, his struts being held up. "Ah, um, of course! I was just stretching them was all."

Shrugging, the vehicon headed back towards the terminal. "Lord Megatron wants a full medical report and briefing of your last mission. Please convey this to Starscream when he is online."

Starscream nodded in acknowledgement, silently cursing his Knock Out imitation before hitting a button on the console to close the entrance.

Letting out the gust of air within his vents, he allowed his shoulders to slump down as he placed a servo on a berth for support. He was taking this better than Knock Out, that was for sure, but there was still a lot to get over. His pedes and chassis being one of them. It was different trying to stand and walk with his pedes flat on the ground, not to mention his wings being absent. His balance was being completely thrown off, a constant reminder of his predicament and the inevitable fact that he was indeed _grounded. _

_Grounded._

Such a simple term with a simple meaning. _Flightless. _He grit his denta as he realized what this would mean. Flight deprivation. He had barely coped within the time frame that he had been deprived of his t-cog. But now, he was flightless without even his wings to feel the wind brush against his sensors, calling him to the sky. His spark was racing as it tried to conceive why it couldn't feel his wing struts. This reminded him of a scientific study that Knock Out had been reading about humans who had their limbs amputated. Although the limb was no longer there, their brain would still think it was there and they would try to move the absent limb. _What a horrible feeling that must be._ He had lost his servo at one point, but Cybertronian structures were different from humans. His servo could easily be replaced with a prosthetic one, though a human body might reject a replaced or robotic limb that was newly attached. His wings were much in the same way now. A Seeker's wings are not just a part of their physical being, but connected deeply within their sparks mental being. Without their wings, their spark, _not to mention their mind,_ would become unstable, unable to feel vibrations and sensors that are important to a Seeker's functioning. Seeker programming demanded a constant need to fly, to feel the sensation of freedom in the clouds.

Starscream un-shuttered his optics with a shiver. He had witnessed many Seekers in his life cycle experience this travesty. Some would simply beg to be put out of their despair, something not always granted. Others had gone mad, _as doctors had claimed_, attempting to fly on their own by any means, in most cases ending in their deactivation. Others took more _drastic_ measures…

He shook his helm to clear those thoughts away. Thinking about the worst case scenario would not help his current situation, solving what had caused this could. _From there we could figure out how to resolve this before anyone notices and I lose my processor! I just need to wake Knock Out-_

"KNOCK OUT."

Starscream let out an un-mechly shriek, losing his balance to land harshly on his aft. He quickly stumbled to his pedes and attempted a bow, nearly falling forward in the process.

"L-Lord Megatron! I, uh, didn't expect your presence."

Megatron ignored his stumbling and strode to the med berth currently occupied by his first lieutenant.

"Doctor. I have come to check on the status of my second pertaining to his latest… escapade."

Starscream stood dumb founded for a moment, processor reeling. _Medical reports, he's looking for a medical report. You're the doctor now, so act like it! _He shook his helm to clear his thoughts. Straightening his back strut, he cocked his hip to the side as he gestured aimlessly towards the Seeker.

"You see, my liege, Kn-er-Starscream and I were engaged by the Autobots and we discovered the relic. It seems to have been equipped with a stasis beam, as you can see."

"A stasis beam? What ingenuity. The Autobots will not stand with this weapon at my disposal. Knock Out, where might my relic be located, so that I might _test _its properties, first hand."

Starscreams vents stalled as he considered his options… Not very good, by the looks of things. _Wait, I was the one to lead the mission… But if Knock Out is in my body… _Starscream internally grinned.

"Ah, yes, _the relic… _You see, Lord Megatron, _Starscream_-"

Megatron turned a sharp glare on the medic, making Starscreams energon lines stall. "I did not ask for _excuses, _Doctor. I asked for results."

Starscream intaked sharply and tried his best to remain composed, though if he had his wings now, they would be flat against his back strut trembling. "Y-yes. Well, I believe this relic will pose more problems than solutions for the Autobots, seeing as how it reacted when we first made contact with the device."

Megatron lifted a servo in thought as he considered the positives of allowing this device within Autobot servos. Considering how long he believed Starscream to have been knocked into stasis, he lowered his servo in resignation. A low groan suddenly drew his attention to his second.

"_Ugh. _What a _horrible _dream cycle. To think that _Starscream _would be frolicking around in _my _fra-" He paused mid-sentence, staring apprehensively around the room. "It wasn't a dream cycle, was it?"

Starscream ran a servo down his face plates before wildly gesturing towards the Decepticon Leader in front of him, making a cutting motion across his neck strut. Knock Out stared blankly before turning towards Megatron.

"Starscream, do you have anything to say on your behalf?"

Knock Out decided to ignore Starscream and cut to the chase. "Before I was knocked into stasis, the relic seems to have switched me and Starscre-" Starscream bolted over and covered his mouth with a servo, innocently smiling towards his lord.

"What is the meaning of this?!"

Knock Out tried to pry the servo off his mouth, but Starscream jabbed a sharp servo into his side.

"I believe my patient is, uh, delusional! Yes. He took quite a nasty blow from the Prime, I'll need a few joors to defrag his processor before he can be on active duty."

Megatron apprehensively glanced between the two. Starscream grinning a bit too hard and if Knock Outs optics widened any farther, they might pop out of his helm. Dead panning at the antics of his so called _Officers, _he headed toward the terminal.

"I expect a full report within the orn and Starscream to be back on active duty. Do not think that I will leave this unheeded."

Once the door closed silently, both mechs let out the breath they were internally holding before Starscream leaped back with a yelp.

"Knock Out! You _licked _my servo!"

Knock Out deadpanned a stare at him and crossed his servos. "You refused to release me, so I had to resort to… _other _methods."

"So you lick your Commanding Officer's servo?!"

"I believe _I _am the Commanding Officer now, if I do recall, judging by these heels and wings." He stated, his new wings fluttering subtly at the struts.

Starscream growled and gestured towards an uncompleted medical file left on a nearby console. "We have more pressing matters than rank at the moment. Megatron wants a full medical report and debriefing of the situation, which if might I add, is _still a situation!" _

Knock Out grumbled and rose off the berth, bringing his pedes to one side. "The only drastic situation at the moment is the state of your paint. How I _loathe _the foliage on this planet. It'll take a few joors of buffing to get those scuffs off your rims!"

Instead of rebuking the remark, Starscream watched with rising amusement as Knock Out tried to stand on his new heels. The Seeker wobbled backwards from the weight of his new appendages before falling flat on his face plates. Starscream couldn't help but cackle at the poor display as Knock Out once again attempted to stand on his own.

"Dear Primus mech, how do you stand on these things?! And these wings, _ugh! _It's like I'm carrying dead weights on my back!" He growled, the appendages naturally shifting high on his back in irritation.

Starscream, having at least gotten ahold of standing flat on his pedes, crossed his servos with a look of triumph. "The gift of flight _is _a heavy burden, isn't it?"

Refusing to answer, Knock Out sat on the tiled floor, making no move to attempt standing again. _He thinks he can make a fool of me, does he?_

Noticing his sudden silence, Starscream strode over and lowered a servo to help the Seeker to his pedes. Knock Out gratefully took the servo and hefted himself up, before pulling a bit rougher, knocking the red mech down to the ground. "How's _that _for grounded, _Commander?" _

Starscream growled, but held his vocalizer. _I'm going to need his help to get out of this. _He easily maneuvered himself back up and gave the Seeker a blank stare. "Look, the sooner we get these reports filed, the sooner we can figure out how to fix this. In the meantime, no one can know about this. Megatron would have us scrapped if he knew he was dealing with a Seeker who couldn't fly and his medic unable to access his medical tools. Useless mechs have no place inside the Decepticon army."

Knock Out was silent a moment before he relented. "Very well. So, how do I walk with these _things?"_

Starscream rolled his optics. "Honestly, it's as if you've never sat up on your struts. Your center of balance is being thrown off because of your new… _appendages. _You'll have to make the adjustment yourself, but I find leaning forward to counter the weight might help. You have a few joors to figure it out before Megatron will be looking for you."

Knock Out did as he was advised and found it much easier to hold himself up this way. Finally somewhat presentable, Knock Out turned a clawed servo towards the shorter mech. "And _you. _Don't think I'll be seen around this warship looking like _that. _Go wash up so I can give that frame a proper buffing."

"So long as you tend to those medical reports, Doctor." Starscream shifted slightly as he remembered another uncomfortable subject that must be addressed. "Ah, er, Knock Out? You are familiar with Seeker coding, yes?"

The mech had long since started typing at the terminal, finding it different, but a bit easier with his longer digits. He grunted halfheartedly, more in tune with his current project. "Yes, yes, it's standard procedure for every medic."

"Ah, well, you are aware of a Seeker's need for flight then, of course."

Knock Out halted his rhythmic typing and considered what Starscream was implying. _Flight. _He would have to… _Oh no… In the sky?! _

Starscream took the silence as a means of his departure and headed to the corridor, pausing a moment in the entrance. "We will discuss your flight training later. For now, we both have our assignments. We will find a way out of this situation at a later time, for now though, I shall continue on living my-I mean, _your _life, good Doctor." With a less than trustworthy smirk set upon his face, the door shut with a silent huff.

_Flight training. My_ _life… Dear Primus!_

Knock Out strode over to a full length mirror, taking in his new appearance. His finish wasn't _nearly _as stunning as his own frame, but this frame did have its own shine to it. _This can be fixed, at least. _He mused to himself, glancing at a buffer left sitting on a moving tray off to the side.

_What's the worst that could happen?_

* * *

DON'T SAY THAT. Thanks to all that reviewed, followed, silently read & showed up in my feed, or whatever. Now that _that_ business is taken care of, we can have some fun. Not _that_ kind of fun..… R&R.


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